Japan's decisive-battle gamble against larger powers

Why did Japan plan around a short decisive war against powers it could not defeat in a long conflict?

Japan hoped a devastating fleet victory would create diplomatic leverage, but Britain and the United States had the industrial depth to rebuild and continue.

Japan hoped to draw an enemy fleet close, destroy it and turn that victory into favourable peace terms, repeating its success against Russia. The British Empire and United States had enough industrial depth to replace a lost fleet and continue fighting. Russia's internal strife in 1905 therefore made it a poor guide to how those opponents would respond. Japan had the shortest journey from the Pacific fighting area to its industrial base, while British ships faced much longer voyages for major repairs. Britain's worldwide bases could nevertheless make temporary repairs sufficient to get ships home, and American ships could return at least as far as Pearl Harbor. The long British repair journey also helps explain the preference for armoured carriers. A further comparison judges German pressure on Britain's food supply to have been more dangerous in World War I than in World War II.